The Beer Here for the week of Dec. 7 - Dec. 14

Mike Wright of The Commons Brewery, shown here labeling bottles, is definitely a hands-on kind of owner. It was a big step for him to move out of his garage, where he operated as Beetje Brewing, into a new space with a big new brew system and a new name, but the gamble has paid off handsomely for Portland beer fans, who have him to thank for some great beers and one of the nicest tasting rooms in town. The Commons celebrates its first anniversary tonight and tomorrow night.John Foyston

Call
it the little brewery that could: The Commons began in Mike Wright's
garage as Beetje Brewery, until he took the big step into a new space,
hired Sean Burke as a brewer and Josh Grgas as cellarman/utility
infielder and bought a new seven-barrel system -- seven times larger
than the one in his garage.

They opened the tasting room a year
ago, and it's one of the coolest in all of Beervana, a wood-paneled,
high-ceilinged industrial space right inside the brewery. The beers are
even better, from the flagship Urban Farmhouse Ale -- which won bronze
at the World Beer Cup -- and Flemish Kiss, which won silver at this
year's Great American Beer Festival, to an evolving roster of one-off
and special beers.

Best of all is the feeling of the place:
Wright chose the name The Commons to describe the coming together of all
manner of people over glasses of good beer, and his brewery lives up to
that ideal. On Friday, they'll celebrate with a 7 p.m. anniversary
toast and by tapping a few special kegs, including the last bit of Plum
Bretta, accompanied by appetizers from Lardo, Pacific Pie, 2nd Story and
Cheese Bar.

Sellwood
Public House's monthly Tap Takeover features Rusty Truck Brewing from
Lincoln City this month. As usual, the pub will turn over most of its
taps to the featured guest, which in this case should involve some beers
rarely seen in the Portland area.

It's been, what, a week now without a
holiday ale festival? But to make up for those few days without a big
event devoted to the bold beers of the season, we have two festivals
this weekend -- one in Old Town Vancouver and one in the Mississippi
Avenue neighborhood.

Vancouver's first Winter Brewfest will
offer at least 20 Northwest winter ales and feature two of Vancouver's
own breweries; Mt. Tabor Brewing and Loowit Brewing Co. The brewfest
will be held outside at Esther Short Park, but will be tented, enclosed
and situated next to the lighted Christmas tree.

"This is our
way of showing the people of Vancouver and Portland that, 'Hey, we've
got our own brewfest and our downtown is pretty cool too,'" festival
organizer Brian Davis says.

Some of the vendors from the
Vancouver Farmers Market will provide food and arts and crafts for sale.
Participating brewers include Widmer Brothers, Loowit, Mt. Tabor,
Burnside Brewing, Ninkasi, 10 Barrel, Lompoc and Red Hook.

Amnesia
Brewing's winter fest, in the Mississippi Avenue neighborhood, is one
of my favorites of the year. Amnesia brewers will have their winter
favorites on tap, such as Frosty's Revenge, Sleigh Jerker and the new
Dubbel Whammy. They'll also be digging out some special kegs from the
cooler, such as Milk of Amnesia milk stout and a Belgian-style golden
ale called Damnesia. And they've invited some talented neighbors such as
Cascade, the Commons, Salmon Creek, Gigantic, Coalition, Double
Mountain, Breakside Brewing and Burnside Brewing to bring special
seasonal beers. It should be a great holiday beer party. DESCHUTES CHEFS CHALLENGE 6 p.m. Monday, Deschutes Brewery Portland Pub, 211 N.W. 11th Ave.; $95, tickets available at chefschallenge.eventbrite.com

For
the fourth year in a row, Deschutes Brewery hosts the Chefs Challenge,
in which six of Portland's finest chefs will compete for the Golden
Growler prize by creating the best food-and-beer pairing. The event is a
benefit for Morrison Child and Family Services. Deschutes owner Gary
Fish is on record as calling it the best beer dinner ever -- and he's
probably right.

Pfriem
Family Brewers head brewer Josh Pfriem joins Tabor Tavern chef Chris
Greer for a holiday-inspired meal featuring four courses and four beers,
including the newly released seasonal, Belgian Christmas Ale, served
with dessert -- a dark chocolate waffle.

The other Pfriem beers featured will be Wit, Belgian Strong Blonde and Belgian Strong Dark.